When we look at a painting, how do we know it’s a genuine piece of art?

Everything we see with the unaided eye in a painting – from the Australian outback images of Albert Namatjira or Russell Drysdale, to the vibrant works of Pro Hart – is thanks to the mix of colours that form part of the visible spectrum.

But if we look at the painting in a different way, at a part of the spectrum that is invisible to our eyes, then we can see something very different.

Continuing even further brings us to microwaves and radio waves where frequencies range from the gigahertz down to kilohertz. Thus the terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum lies between the radio and the visible parts – in other words, between electronics and photonics.

Things can look very different when viewed with “eyes” that can see in the terahertz range. Some things that are transparent to visible light, such as water, are opaque to terahertz light.

Intriguingly, two objects that have the same colour when viewed by the unassisted eye may transmit terahertz radiation differently. So their terahertz signal can be used to tell them apart.

Pigments and colour

This points to the potential use of terahertz radiation in differentiating paints and pigments. Terahertz spectroscopy can distinguish different pigments with similar colours.

We recently used terahertz spectroscopy to distinguish between three related pigments. All come from a family of chemical compounds called quinacridones. These are used widely in producing stable, reproducible pigments that range in colour from red to violet.

Measurements at the University of Wollongong provided the experimental data in the range of 1THz to 10THz. Numerical modelling at Syracuse University (New York) reproduced the experimental data, and gave physical insight into the origin of the features observed.

This brings us to the subject of art authentication – or more importantly, detecting cases of art fraud.

Art fraud

Museums, galleries and collectors are typically very protective of their art collections, but terahertz spectroscopy is well suited to examining their works.

While terahertz spectrometers are often located in laboratories, there are also portable models.

Unlike an analysis that requires removing and consuming some material (by reacting it with chemicals, or burning it), there is no contact made with the material, and thus no harm done to the artwork.

The terahertz radiation simply shines on the painting, and the transmitted radiation is measured. The low energy and low density of terahertz radiation means that the painting is not damaged in any way.

This all makes it suitable for examining art in a way that does not damage it and can be performed where it is located – in a gallery, or home, or almost anywhere.

From theory to practice

So how can terahertz spectroscopy assist in detecting art fraud in practice?

Here’s an example. Let’s say terahertz spectroscopy picks up a quinacridone pigment in a painting. Quinacridone is an artificial material that was first synthesised in 1935, so the painting must date from 1935 or later.

Any claim that the painting is a work by Leonardo da Vinci (who died in 1519), Vincent van Gogh (died 1890) or Claude Monet (died 1926) could therefore be dismissed. Any claim the the work was by an artist who worked after 1935 could not be so easily disproved on this basis.

Of course, other physical methods than terahertz spectroscopy may be applied to analyse paintings. One direct way to analyse art work is by sophisticated, quantitative measurements of the visible spectrum.

Artworks may also be interrogated by other species of light that lie above the blue end visible spectrum. Here the ultraviolet (uv) photons are higher in energy than visible photons. That means they can put energy into a material that is re-radiated as visible photons.

A genuine fake?

There are many aspects to authenticating an artwork, the physical examination being but one of them.

Nonetheless, technical analysis of the materials used – the paints, the canvas, the frames – plays a fundamental role, and that is where terahertz spectroscopy contributes.

But other approaches also play a role. For example, documentation such as records of sales may provide key evidence, as may the more subtle appraisal of style by art historians.

The perceptions of people who assess and buy art is itself an important factor. The word of the artist might be thought to be definitive, but even this has been overruled by expert opinion, as in the case of Lucian Freud.